RAPAPORT... Sotheby’s Hong Kong sale of Magnificent Jewels and Jadeite on April 10 was a success by any measure, bringing in a shade under $38 million. The icing on that particular cake should have been provided by the much ballyhooed, well-traveled 72.22-carat, pear-shaped DIF diamond. Quek Chin Yeow, deputy chairman of Sotheby’s Asia, who personally accompanied the stone on its tour to world markets, noted that there was active bidding “from two people in the room and several more on the phones.” The big stone failed to sell during the sale, but was sold immediately afterward. If it sold anywhere near its presale estimate, it would have added another $10 million or so to the total, giving Sotheby’s Hong Kong another tremendous achievement. As it was, the sale achieved the second-highest total for an Asian jewelry auction.
The giddiness of the high-end diamond market could be seen in the price achieved by the top lot sold within the auction room: A diamond necklace with a total weight of 91.02 carats was sold for $5,436,544*, more than 1 million dollars above the high presale estimate. The necklace, comprised of 43 pear-shaped, D, internally flawless diamonds of graduated size and weight, was a genuine tour de force. The stones were matched not only in color and clarity, but also in silhouette, and ranged in size from 6.51 carats down to 0.56 carats. There were Gemological Institute of America (GIA) reports for each stone, dated from 1993 through February 2008, suggesting that the collection of stones was amassed, with infinite patience — and financial resources. Quek noted it brought “very keen competition, with fierce competition between two bidders, one in the room and the other on the telephone with Patti Wong, Sotheby’s chairman for Asia. The buyer in the room was triumphant,” but, Quek added, it took fully “six minutes of intense bidding.” The winning bid brought a round of applause.
COLORED DIAMONDSFancy colored diamonds figured significantly in the top ten items sold in Hong Kong, with pink, yellow, blue, orangy pink and even a brown diamond among them. A rare and very unusual nineteenth-century necklace featured a 32.27-carat fancy light brown diamond. The catalog rightly pointed to the rarity of such a necklace, with this antique-style cutting, making its way to the twenty-first century without having been recut. The lot also included 57 graduated old mine cut diamonds weighing an additional 39 carats, all of them set in silver-top gold. An Asian private picked up the necklace for $1,336,739, just over the high estimate.
In a more modern vein, a ring set with a 4.45-carat fancy intense pink, internally flawless diamond, within a border of yellow and white diamonds, was sold for $2,012,847, which was right in the middle of the presale estimate. The ring was sold to a member of the international trade.
The growing interest in jewelry was intensified, according to Lisa Hubbard, Sotheby’s chairman, international jewelry, North and South America, because the auction house moved its paintings sale from Singapore to Hong Kong. That increased the viewing audience tremendously. “3,400 people came through on Sunday,” she noted. “South and Southeast Asian works of art brought in a whole new crowd. I thought it was one of the greatest people watching ever.” The result was a great deal of bidding from the countries of Southeast Asia, including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia.
A remarkable pair of fancy orangy pink diamonds – remarkable because they were so well matched in color – was set in a pair of pendant earrings. The pear shapes, weighing 4.02 and 4.54 carats, were set within a double frame of pavé-set diamonds and pink diamonds, and suspended from smaller pink pear shapes. The pair sold for $977,107.
A fancy vivid yellow, internally flawless diamond brought out the bidders with deep pockets. This 13.11-carat pear shape, set in a ring with two pear-shaped diamonds, rocketed past its presale estimate, selling for $1,595,674 to an Asian private.
Quek described the competition between two private Asian women, both in the room. As the bidding passed the million-dollar mark, he said, “the room turned silent, drawing gasps from the audience with each bid.”
Buyers ranged across the rainbow of colored diamonds, picking up an oval-shaped fancy deep blue diamond weighing 2.01 carats, set in a ring within a frame of white diamonds. The lot, which went to the trade, sold for $1,149,731, above the high estimate.
Even black diamonds made their appearance in the sale, a sure sign that these relative newcomers to the world of fine gems have arrived. The lot, a gray cultured pearl and black diamond necklace with matching ear clips, was sold for $37,954. The large cultured pearls, measuring 15.00 to 17.44 mm were completed by a clasp set with a small number of white diamonds and rows of black diamonds. The earrings featured black diamonds and pearls with a cluster of rose cut and round diamond centers.
Not every piece of colored diamond jewelry sold. A multicolored diamond necklace and matching bracelet by Graff failed to sell, as did a significant lot, a 3.47-carat fancy vivid blue, heart-shaped diamond.
JADEITEThe jadeite component of the sale included many classic and typical pieces. Top price for jadeite in the sale went to a bangle that sold just over the low estimate for $1,480,592. The price placed it fourth among the lots sold.
Jadeite has moved into high fashion as well. An intriguing pair of jadeite, tsavorite garnet and diamond ear clips, signed by Lydia Courteille, fetched $14,449, almost double the high estimate. The pale-green jadeite flower design featured tiny tsavorite garnet frogs and similar frogs appearing to climb up tsavorite garnet fringes.
An exquisite necklace that fuses a piece of emerald-green jadeite, carved into the shape of a leaf, with a delicate micropavé and collet-set diamond necklace caught the eye of the bidders. The East-meets-West piece sold for $209,036, just above the high estimate.
DIAMOND DAZZLERSIn the white diamond category, a Harry Winston bracelet made it into the top ten. The classic piece featured waves of marquise cut diamonds framing 14 large brilliant cuts. The piece, with a total weight of 84.04 carats, was sold for $977,107, to an Asian private customer.
A round solitaire diamond, weighing 10.01 carats, D color and VVS2 clarity, was sold for $1,351,125, just over the high estimate, to the trade. If the stone is recut to achieve a greater clarity, it would slip under that magic 10-carat weight.
Ironically, in light of the protests currently raging around the Olympic torch, the catalog was dedicated to the theme of the Olympics. Sotheby’s showed large, fancy colored diamonds perched on podiums next to a swimming pool, as well as jade bangles on similar stands.
*All prices include buyer’s premium.
Article from the Rapaport Magazine - May 2008. To subscribe click here.